640 research outputs found
Stented Artery Biomechanics: A Computational and In Vivo Analysis of Stent Design and Pathobiological Response
Vascular stents have become a standard for treating atherosclerosis due to
distinct advantages in trauma and cost with other surgical techniques. Unfortunately, the
therapy is hindered by the risk of a new blockage (termed restenosis) developing in the
treated artery. Clinical studies have indicated that stent design is a major risk factor for
restenosis, with failure rates varying from 20 to 40% for bare metal stents. Subsequently,
there has been a significant effort devoted to reducing failure rates by covering stents in
polymer coatings in which anti-proliferative drugs are embedded, however
complications have arisen (e.g. incomplete endothelization, lack of success in peripheral
arteries, lack of long-term follow-up studies) that have limited the success of this
technology. It has been thought that restenosis is directly related to the mechanical
conditions that vascular stents create. Moreover, it has been hypothesized that stents that
induce higher non-physiologic stresses result in a more aggressive pathobiological
response that can lead to restenosis development.
In this study, a combination of computational modeling and in vivo analysis were
conducted to investigate the artery stent-induced wall stresses, and subsequent biological inflammatory response. In particular, variations in stent design were investigated as a
means of examining specific stent design criteria that minimize the mechanical impact of
stenting. Collectively, these data indicate that stent designs that subject the artery wall to
higher stress values result in significantly more neointimal tissue proliferation, therefore,
confirming the aforementioned hypothesis. Moreover, this work provides valuable
insight into the role that biomechanics can play in improving the success rate of this
percutaneous therapy and overall patient care
Strangeness Enhancement in Cu+Cu and Au+Au Collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200 GeV
We report new STAR measurements of mid-rapidity yields for the ,
, , , , ,
particles in Cu+Cu collisions at \sNN{200}, and mid-rapidity
yields for the , , particles in Au+Au at
\sNN{200}. We show that at a given number of participating nucleons, the
production of strange hadrons is higher in Cu+Cu collisions than in Au+Au
collisions at the same center-of-mass energy. We find that aspects of the
enhancement factors for all particles can be described by a parameterization
based on the fraction of participants that undergo multiple collisions
Inclusive charged hadron elliptic flow in Au + Au collisions at = 7.7 - 39 GeV
A systematic study is presented for centrality, transverse momentum ()
and pseudorapidity () dependence of the inclusive charged hadron elliptic
flow () at midrapidity() in Au+Au collisions at
= 7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27 and 39 GeV. The results obtained with
different methods, including correlations with the event plane reconstructed in
a region separated by a large pseudorapidity gap and 4-particle cumulants
(), are presented in order to investigate non-flow correlations and
fluctuations. We observe that the difference between and
is smaller at the lower collision energies. Values of , scaled by
the initial coordinate space eccentricity, , as a function
of are larger in more central collisions, suggesting stronger collective
flow develops in more central collisions, similar to the results at higher
collision energies. These results are compared to measurements at higher
energies at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider ( = 62.4 and 200
GeV) and at the Large Hadron Collider (Pb + Pb collisions at =
2.76 TeV). The values for fixed rise with increasing collision
energy within the range studied (). A comparison to
viscous hydrodynamic simulations is made to potentially help understand the
energy dependence of . We also compare the results to UrQMD
and AMPT transport model calculations, and physics implications on the
dominance of partonic versus hadronic phases in the system created at Beam
Energy Scan (BES) energies are discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures. Version accepted by PR
COVID-19: Rapid antigen detection for SARS-CoV-2 by lateral flow assay: A national systematic evaluation of sensitivity and specificity for mass-testing
Background
Lateral flow device (LFD) viral antigen immunoassays have been developed around the world as diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection. They have been proposed to deliver an infrastructure-light, cost-economical solution giving results within half an hour.
Methods
LFDs were initially reviewed by a Department of Health and Social Care team, part of the UK government, from which 64 were selected for further evaluation from 1st August to 15th December 2020. Standardised laboratory evaluations, and for those that met the published criteria, field testing in the Falcon-C19 research study and UK pilots were performed (UK COVID-19 testing centres, hospital, schools, armed forces).
Findings
4/64 LFDs so far have desirable performance characteristics (orient Gene, Deepblue, Abbott and Innova SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test). All these LFDs have a viral antigen detection of >90% at 100,000 RNA copies/ml. 8951 Innova LFD tests were performed with a kit failure rate of 5.6% (502/8951, 95% CI: 5.1–6.1), false positive rate of 0.32% (22/6954, 95% CI: 0.20–0.48). Viral antigen detection/sensitivity across the sampling cohort when performed by laboratory scientists was 78.8% (156/198, 95% CI 72.4–84.3).
Interpretation
Our results suggest LFDs have promising performance characteristics for mass population testing and can be used to identify infectious positive individuals. The Innova LFD shows good viral antigen detection/sensitivity with excellent specificity, although kit failure rates and the impact of training are potential issues. These results support the expanded evaluation of LFDs, and assessment of greater access to testing on COVID-19 transmission.
Funding
Department of Health and Social Care. University of Oxford. Public Health England Porton Down, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, National Institute of Health Research
Energy dependence of ϕ meson production at forward rapidity in pp collisions at the LHC
The production of mesons has been studied in pp collisions at LHC energies with the ALICE detector via the dimuon decay channel in the rapidity region . Measurements of the differential cross section are presented as a function of the transverse momentum () at the center-of-mass energies , 8 and 13 TeV and compared with the ALICE results at midrapidity. The differential cross sections at and 13 TeV are also studied in several rapidity intervals as a function of , and as a function of rapidity in three intervals. A hardening of the -differential cross section with the collision energy is observed, while, for a given energy, spectra soften with increasing rapidity and, conversely, rapidity distributions get slightly narrower at increasing . The new results, complementing the published measurements at and 7 TeV, allow one to establish the energy dependence of meson production and to compare the measured cross sections with phenomenological models. None of the considered models manages to describe the evolution of the cross section with and rapidity at all the energies.publishedVersio
Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC
Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe
Expert recommendations on the assessment of wall shear stress in human coronary arteries : existing methodologies, technical considerations, and clinical applications
The aim of this manuscript is to provide guidelines for appropriate use of CFD to obtain reproducible and reliable wall shear stress maps in native and instrumented human coronary arteries. The outcome of CFD heavily depends on the quality of the input data, which include vessel geometrical data, proper boundary conditions, and material models. Available methodologies to reconstruct coronary artery anatomy are discussed in ‘Imaging coronary arteries: a brief review’ section. Computational procedures implemented to simulate blood flow in native coronary arteries are presented in ‘Wall shear stress in native arteries’ section. The effect of including different geometrical scales due to the presence of stent struts in instrumented arteries is highlighted in ‘Wall shear stress in stents’ section. The clinical implications are discussed in ‘Clinical applications’ section, and concluding remarks are presented in ‘Concluding remarks’ section
Coronary Artery Bifurcation Biomechanics and Implications for Interventional Strategies
The treatment of atherosclerotic plaques near and involving coronary bifurcations is especially challenging for interventional procedures. Optimization of these treatment strategies should begin with an understanding of how disease came to be localized to these regions, followed by careful design of the interventional tools and implanted devices. This manuscript reviews the basic biomechanics of coronary bifurcations, stented arteries, and the complex biomechanical challenges associated with bifurcation stenting. Flow patterns in bifurcations are inherently complex, including vortex formation and creation of zones of low and oscillating wall shear stress that coincide with early intimal thickening. Bifurcation geometry (in particular, the angle between the side branches), is of paramount importance in creating these proatherogenic conditions. This predilection for disease formation leads to a large number of bifurcation lesions presenting for clinical intervention. Therefore, several strategies have developed for treating these challenging lesions, including both dedicated devices and creative adaptation of single vessel lesion technologies. The biomechanical implications of these strategies are likely important in short and long term clinical outcomes. While the biomechanical environment in a stented coronary bifurcation is extremely challenging to model, computational methods have been deployed recently to better understand these implications. Enhancement of clinical success will be best achieved through the collaborative efforts of clinicians, biomechanicians, and device manufacturers. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc
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